Convertible vehicle-body.



H. C. MAISL CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY.

APPLICATION FILED .IULY 7| 1916;

1,251,259. Famed Da; 25,1917. l"

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

i Y I H. c. MMSE. CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY.

APPLICATION FILED .IULY I; 1916. v

Patented Deo.l 25, 1917.. il

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. C. MAISE.

CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY.

APPLlcATloN man JULY y7, 1916. 1,251,259.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mem@ De... 25,1917.' l

UNITED STATES PATE OFFXCE.

HERMAN C. MAISE, F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SPRINGFIELD BODY CORPORATION OF NEW YORK, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A; CORFO- BATION OF NEW YORK.

CONVERTIBLE VEHCLE-BODY.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 7, 1616. Serial No. 107,993.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that 1, HERMAN C. Marsa, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Springfield, in the count.l of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Vehicle-Bodies, of which the *following is a description. t

My invention relates to convertible vehicle bodies and particularly to features of construction relating to the removable windows of such abody. One object of my invention is to provide the vehicle door `with means 'for retaining a window in position when it is raised and or eectually concealing and protecting it when it is lowered.

Another object of my invention is to construct saidswindow retaining means so that they will not detract lfrom the external or internal appearance of the vehicle whether such means are in operative or in inoperative position.

Another object of my invention is to conv struct the Window sashes in a particularly endurable and economical manner.

Other objects of my invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

Referring to the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle equipped with a body made in accordance with my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional viewtaken through the vehicle door and showing the 85 window in elevated position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the window lowered.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing the win-v dow casing Which is pivoted to the door with the Window retained therein.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view showing the manner in which the removable window sashes are retained in position.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, and y Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are views showing the construction of the window casing and sash shown in Fig. 4; and are taken on lines 7--7,

tri-8, -59-9 and 10-10 respectively of said ligure.

The vehicle shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a body having but a single door 11 on each side thereof. The window 12 shown partially lowered in this tigure slides in the Patented Dec. 25, 1917.

casing 18 which casing is pivoted to thetop of the door by means of the hinges 1/1. These hinges may be of any desired type but are preferably provided with some means such as indicated herein at 14a for retaining the casing in substantially vertical position above the door, as indicated in Fig. 2, and in the folded position alongside the door as shown in F ig. 3. The hinge described in the patent to Hinsdale Smith, No. 1,170,569, February 8, 1916, and the hinge of my con pending application, Serial No. 116416 filed August 23, 1916 are suitable for this purose.

The to 15 of the vehicle is preferably rigid anc permanent and is supported by the back 16 and windshield frame 17. The removable window 18 is adapted to be positioned between the windshield frame 17 and the casing 13 and the removable Window 19 is adapted to be positioned between the casing 13 and the back 16. W hen the Windows 18 and 19 vare removed and the Window 12 and the casing 13 are lowered the sides of. the vehicle are unobstructed from the back 16 to the Windshield frame 17.

The casing 13 is preferably provided on the interior thereof with channeled guides or grooves 21 of such width as to embrace rather tightly the tongues 22 secured to the window sash. Asa result of this construction, when the Window is elevated it is held firmly in position without danger of its vibrating, or rattling.- When the window is lowered it is received in the pocket 20 of the door 11.

It will be seen Jfrom an inspection ot Figs. 2 and 3 that due to the configuration and disposition of the door 11 the pocket 20 is necessarily so arranged that the window when disposed therein lies at an inclination to the casing 13 when that casing is in its elevated position, illustrated in Fig. 2. Be-

cause of this fact it is necessary to make provision whereby the window, when being lowered in the guides 21 of the casing may be swung into the necessary inclined posiL tion. I have therefore cut away one of the flanges of each of the channeled guides 2.1 near the bottom thereof as indicated at 23 in Figs. 1 and This permits the window 12 to swing inwardly after it has been lowered a certain amount and thus allows it to assume the inclined position required.

l have shown the pocket 2O provided with guide strips 2l which guide the lower portion of the window when the window is be; ing lowered into the pocket. These guide strips are substantially straight near .the top and in substantial a-linement with the casing 13 when the latter is elevated. The initial. lowering of the window 12 is therefore such that the tongues 22 may be retained within the grooves 20. At a lower point, however, the guide strips 24 are curved as indicated at and converge toward the interior edge 26 of the pocket 20 whereby the final lowering of the window results in its being given the inclination shown in Fig. As above indicated, this latter movement of the window is made possible by the cutting away of the channeled guides 21 near the bottom thereof. A spring member such as is shown at 2b is preferably provided to prevent the window from rattling when in the pocket 20.

W'hcn the window 12 has been lowered into the pocket 20 as indicated in Fig. the. window casing 13 may be. swung down upon its hinges ll-l along side of the door. ln

order that the appearance of the inside of the door may be neat whether the casing 13 is'raised or lowered I preferably provide thereon a panel such as indicated at 2T. This panel is preferably of such size that it will just lit within the casing 13. As a result when the casing 13 is lowered as shown in Fig. 3 the panel and casing together form a substantially ilush surface.

Any suitaiil" eans may be provided for retaining the dow in its elevated position such for esanple as the catclrl shown in Fig. C lso a-strap si 1h as is shown at 2Tb in provided w th suitable 'fastoning device may he empleyed for elevat' ing the win-:low and for retaining it in any desired intcrnnaliate position. rfhis strap is preferably concealed by the panel 2T, as illustrated.

1n earrving out my invention I have employed a novel construction of window sashes and casings. This construction is best shown in Figs. el and 7 to 10 inclusive7 wherein the casing 13 and window sash 123 are iliustratcd as being made entirely of metallic tubing. Thus the Window casing 13 comprises the side pieces or uprights 131,

132 and the top piece 133. The side pieces -are indented on the interior to form grooves 21 for the reception of the tongue 22 as above described and are/bent on the exterior to forni flanges 2S which are adapted to overlap the adjacent removable Windows when the body is closed. The top piece 133 -is indented or channeled only on the interior thereof as indicated at 29 for the reception of the tongue secured to the top of the Window sash.

The window sash comprises the two uprights 121 and 1224 and the top and bottom 123 and 12-1 repectively. Each of these pieces is indented or channeled en the interior thereof as indicated at 30 for the reception and retention of the pane of glass. The. uprights 121 and 122 are also channeled or dovetailed as shown at 31 to receive and retain the tongues 22 above referred to. The top member 123 is dovetailed at 32 to receive and retain the tongue 32, which, when the Window is raised fits within the channel 29 of the casing and forms a tight joint therewith. rIlle tongues 22 and 32 are preferably constructed of a core of rigid that the window casing and sashes, which are iliade entirely of metallic tubing, are .very strong and durable and at the same aime attractive in appearance and inexpensive in manufacture.

The sashes of the. windows 18 and 19 are also preferably constructed ofmetallic tubing in substantially the same manner as above described. Thus as indicated in Fig. 5 the top member 181 of the sash of window 13 is indented or grooved on the interior as shown at 3G to receive the window pane and is devetailed at the top as shown at 37 to receive the tongue of the weatherstrip 3S. l preferably7 cut away the Strip 38 at intervals in its length and insert at these points metal blocks 39 which are provided with tongues 40 which also fit within the groove 3?. The top 15 of the vehicle is preferabiy provided with some sort of a guide such as indicated at l2 for the reception of the weatherstrip 38. Adjacent to this guide and in register with the blocks 40 I provide4 means such as the screws 43 which when the removable sashesv have been positioned are screwed' up so that their pointed ends 44 contact. with the bevel surface 45 of the blocks 40 and thus retain the windows firmly in place.

To convert the body above described into a closed body it is necessary merely to swing the casing 13 .into the position illustrated menace in Fig. 2, slide the window 12 up in the casing, and slide the windows 18 and 19 into place. In reconverting it into an open body the window 12 is slid down into pocket 20, the casing 13 is swung down into the position indicated in Fig. 3, and the windows 1S and 19 are slid out-of their guides and stored in suitable pockets or receptacles located at some convenient place in the vehicle. l

It has heretofore been proposed to hinge the window sashes themselves to the top of the door and to Swing the entire window down alongside the door when not in use, and to provide pivoted guards to protect the window when swung down. When the windbw sashes themselves are hinged to the door, it tis necessary that the window be wholly open or wholly closed, it being impossible to open the window partially as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

I fam aware that the use of a casing hinged to a door and having a window sash slidable therein is not broadly novel. Such casings are generally as thick as the door itself in order that the window may be moved from its inclined position within the door pocket, to its vertical position above the door. The use of such a bulky casing makes a neat appearance impossible especially whe'n-the casing is Jfolded down, and also necessitates the employment of additional means for holding the window against lat'- eral movement when elevated. l/Vith my present construction, on the other hand, the casing is of only suihcient thickness to embrace the sides ot the slidable window, and

it thus not only holds the window irmly in place but also gives to the body an attractive appearance whether the casing is elevated or lowered. The employment of the Hush panel 27 materially adds to the appearance of the interior .,ot the door when the casing is lowered.

I do not wish to limit myself to the particular disclosure or description herein since obviously many changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

lVhat I claim is:

l. In a convertible vehicle body, a door, a slidable window, and as window casing secured to the upper portion of said door and provided with channeled guides adapted to contact simultaneously with both sides ot" said window and normally prevent lateral movement thereof, said door being provided With a pocket adapted to receive the window 'and retain it in aninclined position with respect to said casing, said guides being partially cut away near the bottom to permit the window to slide into and out of said pocket. l 2. Ina convertible vehicle body, a-slidable window, a window casing hingedly connected to the upper portion of said door to be swung into substantially vertical position` thereabove, channeled guides upon said casing adapted to engage both sides of said window simultaneously and normally prevent lateral movement thereof, said door being provided with a pocket adapted to receive the window and retain it in an inclined position with respect to said casing, said guides being partially cut away Lnear the bottom to permit the window to slide into and out of said pocket.

3. In a convertible vehiclebody, a door, a slidable window, a window casing hinged to the upper portion of said door to be swung into substantially vertical position thereabove, channeled guides upon said casing adapted to engage both sides of said window simultaneously and by which the window is normally held against lateral movement, said door being provided with a pocket adapted to receive' the window and having therein downwardly converging guides alined with the casing guides for a part o their length so that the initial movement of the window into the pocket is in substantial alinement with the casing, said rst named guides being partially cut away near the bottom for a distance equal to the converging portion of the pocket guides to permit the window to be moved to an inclined position within the pocket.

4. In a convertible vehicle body, a vehicle door, a window casing pivoted to the upper portion of said door and adapted to be t'olded down alongside said door, and a panel lsecured to the side of the door and adapted to be inclosed by the casing' when folded down, whereby the panel and casing together' form a substantially flush surface.

5. A vehicle body provided with a guide for a removable window sash, a removable window sash constructed or" metallic tubing, said tubing being indented on the exterior of one side to form a groove, and a strip of resilient material provided with a tongue adapted to be inserted in said grec/ve to retain the strip in position so that it will cooperate with said guide when the window sash is in place.

6. A vehicle body provided with a guide for a removable window sash, a removable window sash constructed of metallic tubing, said tubing being indented on the exterior of one side to form a groove, a strip 'ot resilient material provided with a tongue adapted to be inserted in said groove to retain the strip in osition so that it will'cooperate with said) guide when the window is in place, said strip being cut away at intervals, metallic blocks also provided with tongues which are adapted to be inserted in said groove at said intervals to retain the blocks in position, and means mounted adjacent the guide for coperation with said.

metallic blocks t@ liolcl the window szrl'i .iimly 1n pla 7. ln :i een tei-iol* of certain sides for receiving and retaining guiding tongues, A`the tubing ofihe Vie vehicle body a window casing being indented on the interior of cer- 10 casing v 11s`rrmie l el metallic tubing, a wntain sides to form grooves for the reception 5 (low smh e. n f mounted in said casing of Suid tongues.

= o of metallic tubing, the

e eusli being indented on the ex- I HERMAN MASE. 

